Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
... all the mechanisms for "self-destruction" were in place -- appointing certain Blendeds, appraising the ministry above scripture, creating a closed society, condemning both outsiders and any "concerned" insiders -- and thus duplicating the course of history of the "other" exclusives.
... What a shame if this whole dynamic was driven for decades by his own bitter reaction to Japanese aggressions in China, partly due to certain "Benedict Arnold's" among the Chinese clergy.
|
Very astute, and well put. Of course there is always the peril of oversimplifying matters to "one final cause", over and above all the rest. Yet this one cause is worth being held up and examined, carefully, if for no other reason that Lee insisted that the old man had been thoroughly expunged from his being, that "sola scriptura" alone was his guide, and so forth. Had he been honest and admitted that he was a fallen man like the rest, God could have covered him. But he insisted he was pure from these taints, and thus they remained hidden until the flowers and fruits came forth for all to see, and dragged down who knows how many souls in their wake.
This is similar to the oriental "shaming" discussion I've seen elsewhere on the web; it is a practice of the natural man, ingrained in culture, which Lee insisted was over, finished, through, kaput, and therefore it remained submerged and operating quietly for all those years upon everyone who believed his insistence that we were somehow "pure".
The lesson for me is: if you say that you see, your blindness remains. Only if you admit you are blind, and naked, then God can heal and cover you. Lord, have mercy on us all.